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Ben Burkhalter

@benburrk

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↓ CHRONIC OUT NOW ↓

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LUCID DREAMING (V15) 💭

A lifelong dream finally came true.

When I first started climbing over a decade ago, there were a few bouldering videos that had a huge impression on me. These short stories provided a glimpse into the highest level of the sport, showing off some of the most legendary hard blocs in the world 🌎 Videos like “Jimmy Webb Defies Gravity”, “Daniel Woods Conquers Hypnotized Minds”, and “Alex Megos Climbs Lucid Dreaming in Bishop” kept me up at night, unable to sleep because of how fu*king psyched I was! As a kid, watching these videos inspired me to keep climbing and try hard.

Lucid is, and forever will be, the test piece of a generation. When you looked up “Climbing V15” on YouTube, Lucid Dreaming was the first thing that popped up 🪨 It’s short, and to the point — only 3 hard moves. These moves aren’t so bad individually, but linking them together is brutal. The holds are small / particular, and the rock is slicker than glass. Finding optimal conditions is very tricky. Too cold, or too dry and you’re screwed. All of these factors combine to make the boulder extremely hard to do, even if you think you’re close. In the end, a warmer sunny morning session would provide the friction I’d been looking for to get it done 🌞

When I was little, I don’t think I ever had the goal of actually doing any of the boulders I’d seen in these videos… just knowing what was possible within climbing filled me with awe ❤️‍🔥 Standing on top of Lucid was one of the most surreal moments of my entire life. I stood there with the same wonder and excitement I felt as a 13 year old kid watching those vids for the first time. I genuinely never could have imagined the day would come that I would be the one, ecstatic, running up that 60ft slab 🥲 Wow. Two weeks later and I still can’t believe it!!! taken in Bishop, California by @benburrk

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8 months ago

Red Feather 🪶 V11

Such a sick line in Big Cottonwood! Felt sooo nice to climb on rock again. Been trapped in the gym plastic grabbing and block pulling for the last few months rehabbing this finger injury🖕Hype to keep healing up and ramping for more canyon rigs this fall 🍂 taken in Big Cottonwood Canyon by @benburrk

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2 days ago

“CHRONIC” 🚬

A Las Vegas bouldering film from @benburrk out tomorrow on the Tension YouTube Channel ▶️

Not a joke. Don’t miss it 👀 by @benburrk

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7 months ago

A Little Life (V14) 🌎 Third Ascent

The most beautiful boulder in the world.

Stood atop Buttermilk Mountain sits the most perfect piece of stone I’ve ever seen. A line so inspiring, you can’t take your eyes off it. In the land of picturesque highballs and scenic backdrops, Little Life stands out among the rest 🏔️ A tall swooping face so pure and blank, it’s hard to believe it’s even possible. All set at the highest point in the entire boulderfield with 360° of stunning mountain views. It’s truly breathtaking.

I’ve never really sought out highballs. The potential consequences of any small mistake combined with the logistics of trying something that tall have never been my thing… but sometimes you gotta make exceptions 👊 After my first session trying on a rope, I felt confident that I was ready physically. On my second session, after getting through the lower slab, my mind was clear and I felt nothing. No nerves, no fear. Total emptiness 🌫️ I was ready mentally. So, I executed the upper crux and topped out in disbelief not only that I’d done it, but that I wasn’t even scared. A feeling unlike anything I’ve ever experienced climbing before. Crazy 🤯

Huge props to Keenan for establishing this mega and all the homies who helped make this thing happen. Absolute chronic rig! It doesn’t get much better than this 😮‍💨 by @benburrk

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7 months ago

The Nest (V15) 🪺

Ticked off another dream rig last week! Full circle experience with this one. I first tried a few years back on my first trip to Vegas, but quickly realized it was way out of reach for me… literally. The standard beta revolves around a deep lock-off sequence with a low percentage deadpoint to a poor sloping edge. The difficulty of this sequence is extremely height-dependent, and I quickly deemed it ‘impossible’ for my dimensions 📏 Next, I tried the alternate, less reachy beta, and found it was hard for all the opposite reasons — bunched up climbing in a very small box. Everything either felt too reachy, or too scrunchy. The thing had my number 🔢

This year I came back with no real expectations, just hoping that something might be different this time. I quickly realized that the beta I’d written off as morpho, was actually doable… just barely 🤏 After finally finishing the stand start that session, it was game on for the low. The full line adds nine moves into the stand, which makes the already physical, low percentage snatch even harder and less consistent. After falling there 20+ times over the next two sessions, I finally had the one lucky go where it all came together, and I floated 🎈Such a sick feeling topping one that I’d fully written off just a few short years ago! The whole time I’d been telling myself “if I was just a little bit taller…” but in reality I just had to get a little bit stronger 🪹 taken in Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas by @benburrk

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7 months ago

shao-links 🏜️ taken in Red Rock Canyon by @benburrk

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8 months ago

Trieste Sit (V15) 🏳️

Finally wrapped up some unfinished business in Vegas! In January 2025, I headed westward on a two week climbing trip to Red Rocks and Bishop 🏜️🏔️ The goal for the first half of my trip was Trieste V14. At the time I was coming off a nagging finger injury, and it felt like Trieste was the perfect climb to test whether or not I was “Back”.

The bloc is gently overhanging on very fine grain sandstone, so for something of that description to be hard, the holds have gotta be pretty thin. In my mind, if the finger could tolerate this, then I would effectively be back to 100%! After getting super close my first session, I ended up sending the stand first T on day two 🏁 and it didn’t feel close to limit! Naturally, I then set my sights on the full line. I had proven to myself that I was back… now it was time to push past. After a handful of close attempts next session, I couldn’t quite get er’ done. I left for Bishop with hopes to return and clean up later in the year 🧹

Back to Colorado I went and literally my first gym session back… another finger tweak 🤦‍♂️ this time on the other hand. You can’t make this shit up. Fast-forward through many months of rehab where I was playing more pickleball than I was climbing and we get to January 2026 — One year since I last tried Trieste. A year had gone by, but the goal remained the same, except this time it was f*cking personal. I knew how the Sit felt last year. I knew I was capable of doing it a year ago. I knew that this was the final test to see if I was finally “Back”. And 5+ hours deep into my first day back, I absolutely bodied it 😮‍💨 Full circle moment standing on top of this thing again! Soooo psyched. We’re so back 🗣️

“Life ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” taken in Red Rock Canyon by @benburrk

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9 months ago

Been a minute 👋😁

#climbing #rockclimbing #bouldering taken in Salt Lake City, Utah by @benburrk

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a year ago

Day 1 in Bish 🏔️ by @benburrk

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2 years ago

Without Darkness… A star can never shine ✨

Flamignon V13 ⭐️

I’ve been dealing with a chronic finger injury for over a year now. Having to sideline myself and climb / rehab indoors was an important but painfully slow process that left me feeling unsure if I would ever be as motivated as I once was. Even now, things still aren’t back to 100%, but they’re at a point where I feel comfortable pushing myself and returning to real rock 🪨 Leading up to the Hueco trip, I was skeptical about how my finger would feel, so I hand-picked two main goals — Seventh Circle and Flamignon — I thought these boulders were sick, and would be a proper challenge without going too hard on my injured finger 🖕Completing both of these was so damn satisfying and served as a reminder of how much love I have for this sport. I’m not totally back, but I’m getting there. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The fire has been relit 🔥 taken in Hueco Tanks by @benburrk

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2 years ago

Seventh Circle ⭕️ V14 ⭕️

One of the best boulders in Hueco 🏜️ Flowy movement between perfectly sculpted rails leads to a subtle kneebar section that contorts your body around to gain the next set of holds. Here you enter straight into a blind slap to a terrible sloper. Next is a cruxy heel hook squeeze sequence into very droppable final move. And to top it all off the whole thing is completely polished thanks to a crazy phenomenon called “Mammoth Rub” where about 12,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, mammoths would take mud baths and rub against the rock to clean their fur 🦣 Thanks to the mammoths for cheffing on this one 👨‍🍳 Truly one of the coolest boulders I’ve ever done! by @benburrk

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2 years ago

Power of Landjäger V11 Flash 🌭 Hueco is so good 🔥 by @benburrk

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2 years ago